Who's on the Hot Seat After the Chiefs' NFL Draft Picks? O-Line, Tight End, DBs Could See Shake-Up

With seven new draftees being added to the Kansas City Chiefs' roster, where could rookies unseat veterans in 2024 and beyond?

Dec 10, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs guard Joe Thuney (62) and offensive tackle Wanya Morris (64). / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs' rookie class has taken the practice field in Kansas City, setting the stage for the next generation of Chiefs. How will these rookies impact the rotation in 2024 and beyond? Let's take a closer look at which current Chiefs could be feeling the most heat from the rookies, with immediate positional battles and long-term roster-building questions stemming from KC's rookie class.

Jordan Foote: For 2024's purposes, the player feeling the most pressure has to be offensive tackle Wanya Morris. While he flashed some upside as a rookie, he had his fair share of low moments didn't perform consistently enough to earn the outright starting job. That was confirmed by both Andy Reid and Brett Veach before the draft, then doubled down on by the team in round two. Kingsley Suamataia is an elite-level athlete and has plenty of potential. How wide is the gap between him and Morris right now? What could that look like by the end of training camp? Morris needs to have a tremendous offseason or hope the rookie stumbles in order to assume the No. 1 spot on the left tackle depth chart.

Joshua Brisco: I'm right there with you on Suamatiaia/Morris, and since Xavier Worthy is predominantly set to take snaps from wide receivers who are no longer with the team or have clearly been demoted, I have to go to KC's third pick for the next "hot seat" threat: rookie tight end Jared Wiley will be competing to make Irv Smith Jr.'s time in Kansas City forgettable. Smith's one-year deal with KC is minimal, and the team has long-term hopes for Wiley. I think they most likely carry four tight ends out of training camp, but if Wiley can push himself onto the field as KC's TE3 (or at least their third TE in 13 personnel), he could begin to carve out a larger role for himself, likely at Smith's expense, as neither are likely to unseat Noah Gray as KC's TE2.

Foote: Looking into the future, there seems to be a world where Trey Smith could be the odd man out as far as the Chiefs' interior offensive line is concerned. With Joe Thuney under contract at a massive cap hit for 2025 and Creed Humphrey being a borderline-elite center, those two are probably locked in. Smith, on the other hand, has proven to be serviceable but not great. Is Kansas City comfortable inking him to an extension that could cost upwards of $10 million per year? The guard market hasn't been very kind. Considering Hunter Nourzad has already been acknowledged as the new Nick Allegretti, it's worth at least wondering about. Thuney's name could factor into post-2025 decisions.

Brisco: I agree that Nourzad brings the most obvious long-term "hot seat" or positional insurance potential. If Thuney struggles for any reason in 2024 (his age-32 season), the Chiefs could look to move on from Thuney and extend Smith, but Thuney's consistently excellent play and his $10.9 million 2025 dead cap hit (per Spotrac) makes your hypothetical much more likely. My under-the-radar name to watch: safety Justin Reid. Reid is a free agent after this season, entering the last year of his deal without an extension, similar to how the Chiefs handled Tyrann Mathieu. When the Chiefs were surprised to land Jaden Hicks at No. 133 overall, they may have found a Reid-esque player on a long-term much cheaper deal. Two years after drafting and developing safety Bryan Cook and one year after doing the same for defensive back Chamarri Conner, KC has built a remarkable safety depth chart. I wouldn't call Reid "expendable" at this point, but three rookie-contract safeties (two of whom have shown real sparks at the NFL level) should give KC plenty of options with how they handle Reid as he hits free agency.

Read More: Xavier Worthy on His Role, Playing Weight and Learning from DeSean Jackson